Player profile

'El Toro' or The Bull is a nickname he earned for his quickness and physical play while he was in the Spanish Under-21 team. Enrique made his breakthrough at Villareal before joining Newcastle for £6.3 million after just one season with the Yellow Submarines. Enrique was selected as Newcastle's official Player of the Season for 2009/10 and named in the Championship's PFA Team of the Season as the Magpies won promotion to the Premier League. Two days before the start of the 2011/12 Premier League season, Liverpool purchased the Spanish left-back. Although Enrique still had one year left on his Newcastle contract, a move away from Tyneside was always likely after he had criticised the club’s transfer policy earlier in the summer.

Enrique joined a Liverpool squad already possessing a number of players either youthful or experienced who could occupy the position he was most suited to play in. However, the left-back position in the team was one that had been rather difficult to fill permanently in recent years. Kenny Dalglish was confident enough in his latest acquisition to put him straight into the first team on the opening day of a new Premier League season. By the turn of the year he had impressed so much with his defensive stability and attacking surges upfield that he had played in all nineteen of the Premier League matches up to that time. His form dipped alarmingly towards the end of the season, but he was still a regular. He picked up a winners' medal in the League Cup and also had an unexpected seven minutes in goal against his old club Newcastle United after Pepe Reina had been sent off at a time when Liverpool had used all their three substitutes. Enrique has proved a key player for Liverpool since Brendan Rodgers took over, either used as a left-back or left-winger.

Enrique played in thirty-five of Liverpool's fifty-four competitive matches in 2012/13. He also scored his first Premier League goals for Liverpool in the home matches against Wigan Athletic and Swansea City; and in so doing he doubled the total of Premier League goals he had scored in four seasons as a Newcastle player. Injuries restricted Enrique to just 8 first-team appearances in 2013/14 and according to his tweets was quite busy honing his skills playing FIFA, in which he reigns reportedly as club champion.

Milestone Goals

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Related Quotes

"Jones went to inside-right, later left-half, and afterwards alternated between right-back and centre-half. Bill was one of the finest utility players I know. He could turn in a good display in any position, and didn't mind where he played so long as he got a game."

Billy Liddell on Bill Jones in his autobiography

The player was in the squad the following season

Season

Shirt #

Position

2011-2012

3

Defender

2012-2013

3

Defender

2013-2014

3

Defender

2014-2015

3

Defender

* Note, Since the 1993-94 season players have been allocated a fixed number.